Strax went to the back of the carriage to check what had happened, and well... the problem might be relatively simple. "If we go slowly, we might make it to the next village," Carlos said, assessing the situation. It wasn't that the wheel had broken; in fact, it was a wooden wheel, and one of the spokes had snapped.
"Great, just what we needed," Carlos said, looking at the broken spoke with frustration. "We'll need a replacement. We can't continue with a wheel like this."
Strax examined it closely... "If we go slowly, could we still make it through the forest? Even with the carriage tilted, maybe we could," Strax asked Carlos.
"It's impossible, not with these second-rate horses; they're too weak to pull this like that," Carlos commented, and Strax looked at the horses, stopping to think now... "Aren't they... mares?" Strax noticed they were much less muscular than the horses from other carriages... "Damn it! Is that why Apocalypse created a rift? Damn it!" He thought before Strax heard Carlos speak.
"I thought you knew and just called them horses because the gender didn't matter," Carlos said, and Strax looked at him seriously, almost as if to say, 'I'm going to kill you,' clearly not happy at all. In fact, he was really considering it... especially after hearing what those two dragons were saying in his head.
"Kill him!" Ouroboros shouted furiously seeing Strax was having trouble, but what was surprising wasn't Ouroboros; her reaction... was predictable coming from her, who was really quite obsessed with Strax. The problem was the other dragon woman...
"I agree, you can kill this idiot," Tiamat said, sitting cross-legged and watching through Strax's eyes what was happening in his life. "I'd love to have fresh meat, though I think he must taste like trash." Tiamat concluded, quite cruelly...
"What happened to you?" Strax questioned mentally while still considering solutions for his current problem.
"Nothing happened, I'm just tired of holding back. I'm going crazy trying to be something I'm not. Screw being serious; I'm tired of being mocked by that ugly snake!" Tiamat shouted, causing even more of a headache for Strax, who was already dealing with a lot of complications in his head. "Okay, we'll talk about this crap later," Strax said, annoyed as he stood up.
"Apocalypse." He called the mare, who came walking over, calmly stamping her hoof on the ground. "Can you push this carriage on your own?" He asked, after all, he knew Apocalypse wouldn't cooperate with those other mares... "Hi! Ihiihi! Ihhii! Ihhi!" She said in agreement, almost saying:
"Yes! How dare you ask such a simple thing! I should have done this earlier!"
Strax sighed, relieved to have a solution. "Carlos, unhook those mares. We'll put Apocalypse in their place."
Carlos began to unhook the mares while Strax guided Apocalypse to the front of the carriage. Apocalypse, an imposing creature, easily replaced the other mares and took charge. With a firm pull, the carriage started moving again, though slowly.
"Alright, let's move on. We'll stop at the next village and get a new wheel," Strax said, resuming his commanding position as he walked alongside, holding the two mares that had been on the carriage before.
Samira, with her large sword, cleaved one of the bandits in half, creating a huge pool of blood on the ground as the severed body fell. Her strikes were precise and lethal, cutting down any bandit who came near her. She held her position firmly, protecting the group's rear.
Carlos, despite his initial fear of being a killer rather than a fighter, didn't back down. He had techniques that could still be effective against these... idiots. He drew his sword and joined the fight, dealing with two bandits. But the battle seemed more like an awkward dance compared to the lethal efficiency of the others.
The fight was not intense at all... in fact, it was more of a massacre. The group of bandits, made up of twelve men, turned into a small pile of corpses within minutes.
"This was just a big joke. What's with these so-called strong groups? Damn, they were stupid bugs! What the hell, they didn't even have any cultivation!" Strax said, wiping the blood from his sword. "What a mess." He was truly disappointed with the encounter.
There was no time to waste or corpses to loot; the bandits were completely poor, with nothing of value. Well, at least they had somewhere to fall dead. With the path clear, the group decided to resume their journey. After all, what would they do if night fell while they were still in this strange forest?
The carriage, now pulled by Apocalypse, moved down the forest road, even slower to keep them more alert. The heavy silence of the woods was interrupted only by the creaking of the broken wheel and the sound of Apocalypse's hooves. They knew they needed to find the next village quickly to repair the carriage.
Strax was at the front, his senses alert, while Carlos drove the carriage cautiously. Monica and Beatrice were behind, keeping watch, trying to relax, but the tension from the forest and the recent attack was still visible on their faces.
Samira, ever vigilant, walked alongside the carriage, her large sword ready for any eventuality. She was expanding her mana and using it like a sonar to immediately identify anyone approaching. The first time they were idiots, but nothing prevented them from being strong next time.
"How long until the next village?" Monica asked, glancing nervously at the forest sides. "It shouldn't be much longer," Carlos replied, knowing exactly what was ahead. "If we keep up this pace, we should get there before nightfall."
The path was difficult, with roots and rocks hidden beneath fallen leaves. Twilight was approaching, and the fear of spending the night in the forest began to grow among them. "Damn it..." Strax murmured, impatient with the situation.
However, Carlos pulled the reins, bringing the carriage to a stop. Apocalypse whinnied angrily at him, clearly irritated by the sudden halt. "There's something ahead," he said, pointing to a faint light on the horizon.
"It's the way out of this damned forest!" Beatrice said, excitedly.
"Watch your mouth," Monica pulled her ear.
"Ouch, ouch, Mom!" Beatrice protested, rubbing her ear.
Strax let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the light. "Finally, some luck," he said, keeping his guard up. "Let's go, we need to get out of this forest before it gets completely dark."